Summary
Electron microscopic views of centrifugal nerve fibers in the optic nerve stump of a 56-year-old man are presented. These nerve fibers had survived for 16 days after removal of the corresponding eyeball and exhibited terminal swellings pointing in a distal direction and indicating axoplasmic flow towards the removed eye. The centrifugal nerves in this adult lack any evidence of attempted regeneration that has earlier been observed under similar conditions in the optic nerve stump of a child.
Zusammenfassung
Zentrifugale (antidrome, efferente) Nervenfasern sind hier zum ersten Mal mit dem Elektronenmikroskop im menschlichen Sehnerven dargestellt worden. Diese Nervenfasern wurden in dem Sehnervenstumpf eines 56jährigen Mannes 16 Tage nach der Entfernung des dazugehörigen Auges gefunden. Endschwellungen dieser Nervenfasern waren distal ausgerichtet und deuteten damit einen Axoplasmafluß in Richtung des entfernten Auges an. Während deutliche Regenerationsversuche an den distalen Enden unterbrochener zentrifugaler Nervenfasern im Sehnervenstumpf eines Kindes früher beobachtet worden sind, fanden sich im Sehnerven dieses Erwachsenen keinerlei Zeichen von Regeneration der zentrifugalen Fasern.
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Welter, J.R. Electron microscopic demonstration of centrifugal nerve fibers in the human optic nerve. Albrecht von Graefes Arch. Klin. Ophthalmol. 210, 31–41 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414787
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414787